Story byPharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind.

BASEBALL: Logan rolls past Peru in sectional opener

Beau Wicker, Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind.Fri, May 29, 2026·6 min read

While the Logansport softball team was wrapping up a sectional title at nearby Fincher Field, the Logansport baseball team began its sectional journey at Jim Turner Field on Thursday night.

The Berry baseball team was in control from the outset in a 7-0 win over Peru to avenge a sectional defeat from last season.

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Sophomores Braylon Ritchie and Kuper Jones combined on a two-hit shutout as the Berries (18-10) shut down the Bengal Tigers (15-10).

Ritchie (4-3) picked up where he left off as he pitched a one-hit shutout his previous outing in a 2-0 victory over Class 2A No. 10 Oak Hill. He went five innings against Peru.

“I felt pretty good throwing-wise, but I also felt kind of fatigued and I was pretty tired out on the mound,” he said. “I battled through it, got five innings out of it.”

The youngster wasn’t sure why he wasn’t feeling his best.

“I probably just didn’t eat enough today and not enough electrolytes, but I got that in the dugout and I felt better in the fifth inning,” he said.

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He said he definitely was not as sharp as he was nine days earlier against Oak Hill, when, “It was just a good day to pitch. My changeup felt good. My slider felt good, fastball was hitting spots, just doing my thing.”

Ritchie was still able to get through five innings of shutout ball allowing two hits, one walk and one hit batter, striking out five.

Jones closed it out with two hitless innings, walking one and striking out one. The Berries did not commit an error.

“I think tonight we played great,” Jones said. “Pitching was well, fielding was well, hitting was great. Good energy in the dugout. I think we overall just played great as a team.”

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The Berries came out swinging out of the gate. Hudson Shank and Taylor Albright had back-to-back singles to lead off the game. Blake Pearson got the Berries on the board with a sac fly. Ritchie followed with an RBI single as the Berries led 2-0 after one.

The score would remain that way until the fourth, when Ritchie led off with a double over the left fielder’s head. Jones followed with an RBI single as courtesy runner Cael Ash made a nice slide to evade a tag at home to make it 3-0. Camden Chapman followed with a single. Grady Alexander hit a sac fly to make it 4-0. Kolten Hudson hit an RBI double to left to make it 5-0. Bryson Herr was hit by a pitch. With two outs Albright hit an RBI single to left to make it 6-0. Pearson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ritchie drew a walk to give the Berries a 7-0 lead.

Albright and Ritchie finished with two hits apiece. Pearson added a double.

William Rodriguez had a double and Lukas Ulery had a single for Peru.

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Jackson Boswell allowed six runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings for the Bengals. Dylan Heyob allowed one run on two hits, two walks and two hit batters in 2 2/3 innings.

Logansport avenged an 8-6 sectional loss to Peru from a year ago at Turner Field in what was the Berries’ first year in Class 3A.

“They beat us twice last year, knocked us out of the sectional, so we wanted to win tonight,” Albright said.

“I think last year we came into these games thinking we were gonna win, playing really sloppy,” Jones said. “Glad to win them both this year, but it’s good to get them back from last year.”

Logansport coach Dan Frye got a solid start from Ritchie.

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“He said his arm felt good but he was kind of sluggish. I don’t know if he got dehydrated or what was going on there. He had Syd (Latham) take a look at him in the fourth thing I think it was and he said he could get one more,” Frye said. “I went out, the only reason I went to the pitcher’s mound was because I knew he wasn’t feeling well and at that point it became let’s try to keep the pitch count down, which we were able to do and then he threw a heck of a game. But he didn’t have his normal pop on the fastball. And you could tell that he was just a little sluggish, but the kid’s a gamer. He wants to be in the game, he wants to compete. And he said let’s get one more inning. And we gave him one more inning.

“And then we were fortunate to be able to get Kuper down in the bullpen and get him warmed up to come in and slam the door. So probably just one hit. I know Blake misplays a fly ball in left field that’s probably an out. So he’s doing really well. The pitching staff is doing really well. And we hit some balls well tonight, so we’ll hope to build on it and be ready for West Lafayette for Saturday.”

The Berries did not want to lose a sectional game to Peru on their home field in back-to-back seasons.

“Well, that’s a good baseball team,” Frye said. “They had a good season and we love Josh Ulery and what he’s done over there for Peru. And they’ve got some nice young players and it’s fun to play a team that’s only about 10 miles away. I think the only disappointment is he was hoping to be a little bit more competitive as far as that goes. But you’ve got to tip your hat to the sophomore pitching that we have. They threw the ball pretty good. I think the future’s bright for what we have to come on the pitcher’s mound.”

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Frye added that senior right-hander Josh Middleton (5-2) will get the ball on Saturday.

West Lafayette defeated Maconaquah 5-1 in the earlier semifinal Thursday.

No. 3 Western (24-2) survived Twin Lakes 9-8 in 12 innings Wednesday, avenging its only two losses of the season in a game that took 3 hours and 40 minutes to complete. Twin Lakes finishes 20-9.

Western plays Northwestern (20-5) at 3 p.m. Saturday. Logan plays West Lafayette (11-15) at 5 p.m. Saturday. The final is 5 p.m. Monday.